Miraculously
by Akatsuki Child
Summary: All Percy wants is to survive senior year. That's going to be hard though when a certain someone interrupts his plan and changes his life. AU. Percabeth. Percy's POV.
1. Insufferable

**So this is my new story! I'm writing it for a special, newly acquired friend Lady of Cythera. She's become a really special friend to me through Fanfiction and she wanted me to write this story for her. So I dedicate this whole story to her. It's something new that I don't usually do (I suck at high school fics) so bear with me! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Insufferable<strong>

"Why the hell are you taking Chinese Calligraphy?"

I sighed at my annoying cousin Nico. For someone who looked depressed and unemotional, he was the most boisterous person I knew next to Thalia. He was blunt and naïve. He couldn't take a hint if it knocked him square in the forehead, and he was about as smart as a rock.

Granted, I didn't have much room to talk with my C average GPA, but I at least held some common sense. And an excellent counselor. "Because I need one more language class to get more scholarship money."

Nico pointedly rolled his eyes at me before swiping my schedule away from me. Being a sophomore, he didn't think he needed to worry about college just yet. What a smack to the face it would be when he gets to senior year…I'll be laughing my ass off when he ends up flipping burgers at McDonalds.

"Chinese…Algebra III—they have that many algebra classes?—History…AP English…Computer Works…Gods, these are all crap classes."

I scoffed. "Whatever."

As the final warning bell rang for class and as kids poured into the halls, I purposely wove an intricate and confusing path through the throng of kids to lose my annoying cousin. I sighed in relief when I saw him get swallowed by a group of juniors.

I headed towards Chinese Calligraphy. This was my last year of high school—finally—and all I wanted was to get through it mostly unscathed (this depended on the cooperation of Thalia…) and go off to college. Even though I was six foot plus, I didn't stand out to badly in the crowded hallways. Among the actual people, though, I stood out like a sore thumb. Most of the girls in my grade thought I was a loser. I wasn't a star sports player, I obviously didn't care too much about my grades, and I wasn't devilishly good-looking.

Thankfully, though, I had my group of friends: Thalia, the punk angel who wasn't afraid to speak her mind; Rachel, the rebel who didn't take crap; Nico, the annoying cousin with an odd—and scary—sense for pulling successful pranks; and last but not least, my best friend Grover, the mischievous guy of the group with a strange appetite for enchiladas. Together, our group stayed out of the line of fire—the preps—and promised to survive high school together. No one bothered our group, even if they did think we were freaks.

I finally found the Chinese Calligraphy room. I was a bit late though, so the only open spot was up front. I sighed at my bad luck. I could already tell what type of day it was going to be.

"Alright, class, welcome to Chinese Calligraphy!"

The teacher was a short, old, Chinese woman with big thick glasses and a questionable sense of fashion.

"Everyone needs a book," she pointed to a stack of books on the table in the back, "but we're short a couple so for today some people will need to share."

I was determined to get my own book. I practically jumped a mile high sprinted to the back of the room. I would have made Coach Clapp, our gym teacher, proud.

As luck would have it, I somehow ended up not getting one, yet the girl next to me did.

"You'll just share with her," Mrs. Chang instructed me, pointing to the girl beside my desk. I sighed to myself and scooted my desk towards her like the other partners did.

As Mrs. Chang prattled on and on about what the class was going to be like, I couldn't help but glance at the girl from the corner of my eye.

She look familiar…She had golden locks that curled slightly, almost like a California blonde. Her skin was tan, but not overly so. It was natural, not like the orange color some girls had. She had a slim face, a slender nose, and high cheekbones. Her lips parted slightly as she suddenly sighed out.

"Get to work!"

I blinked, looking at Mrs. Chang then back to the girl. "Umm…what?"

"You weren't even paying attention, were you?" The girl asked.

She finally turned towards me. She looked me in the eyes, her eyebrow cocked up in an accusatory way. Her eyes…they were stormy gray, almost impossible to look away from, even though she was slightly glaring at me.

"Do I know you?" I smartly replied. My mouth had a habit of saying things before my brain thought it through.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Annabeth. Chase. We've gone to school together for five years already."

This was news to me. Why hadn't I noticed her before?

"Right…" I feigned like I knew that all along. "I thought you were someone else."

"Sure," she replied haughtily, obviously not believing me.

I narrowed my eyes. What was her deal?

"Let's just get this class over with."

I was surprised at her hostility. Nevertheless, I tried to ignore it as I asked, "Um…what are we doing?"

She stiffened. "Looking up characters and writing our names."

I sighed through my nose. "Okay…"

We worked in tense silence. I didn't understand why she was in such a bad mood, or why she was so angry towards me. More importantly, how had I not noticed her before? She said we've been in the same school for five years. How did she go by unnoticed? She must have had it wrong. I would have noticed her by now. I'm sure of it.

"So…" I started when we were done and waiting.

She stared at me with a raised brow, probably enjoying my awkwardness.

"Um…" I stared off around the room, looking for something to start a conversation. I came up blank though.

I heard her snort and I looked to see her smirking and shaking her head at me. "That was a good attempt, though."

I narrowed my eyes. "At least I tried."

"But you failed epically."

I crossed my arms defiantly. She was really starting to tick me off with her snobbish attitude. "I'd rather try and fail than be a coward."

She glared at me. In the back of my mind, I found it odd that I was fighting with this girl already, and about something petty nonetheless.

"But why look like an idiot when you can look smart?"

I opened my mouth to retort to that, but found that I couldn't find a good comeback. She smirked at her obvious win. I scoffed and turned away from her.

The whole period went like this. We practically used books the whole time, so we always seemed to get caught in some stupid argument. She was driving me insane. She was really smart, I found out, but annoyingly so. She always had a retort to through at my face.

By the end of the period, we were practically at each other's throats.

"I just don't understand why you're so dense," Annabeth griped, glaring at me.

"Why are you such a know-it-all prat?"

"Seaweed Brain!"

"Wise Girl!"

We glared daggers at each other, but then finally, the bell rang signaling the end of class. I watched as she threw her things into her bag and stalked out of the room, practically steaming.

I huffed and stomped out of the room. This was definitely a bad day.

* * *

><p>At lunch, I told my friends about my endeavors.<p>

"She's just…insensitive!" I complained, practically crushing my milk carton.

I saw Rachel and Thalia exchange a look. "Well…you are a jerk sometimes," Rachel so kindly said.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

"How could you _not_ notice her?" Nico asked incredulously. "She's only _hot as hell_."

I shook my head. "She's _not_. She's infuriating, dramatic, a smartass—"

Grover sighed as he piled his enchilada high with salsa. "Dude, we _get_ it. You hate her."

I speared a piece of chicken with my fork. "All I know is Chinese is going to be hell from now on."

"In her defense," Rachel spoke up, "you are dense sometimes. She was probably just annoyed with you. You should try being nice to her next time. I heard she doesn't have very many friends."

That was Rachel. She was nice to everyone until proven to be otherwise.

"I wonder why…" I mumbled. She slapped me upside the head and gave me a glare.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"Dude," Nico started, eyes wide. "I will forever worship you if you get her to join our group."

This time, Thalia slapped him. I mentally thanked her and thought about the prospect of being nice to Annabeth. Somehow, I didn't believe it was going to go well the next time I saw her.

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><p>Unfortunately, that time came all too soon. Turns out, she's also in my PE class.<p>

"Alright, today to celebrate the beginning of a school year, we'll play dodge ball!"

Coach Clapp was a burly man. He had a bit of beer gut starting to form, but that shouldn't fool anyone. He was still strong, and with his mustache and sweat suit combo, he was the cockiest asshole teacher in the whole school. Everyone hated him because he was such a jerk, but at the same time, everyone liked him because he was realistic. He was the kind of asshole that got on your back for not working hard enough. He pushed you because he knew you could do better.

Thankfully, I had Nico in my class, so we ended up being on the same team together. It basically turned into a guys vs. girls game. Not that I minded. I had my eyes set on Annabeth. Time for a little revenge.

I caught her eye and she glared harshly at me. Turns out she wasn't about to let me forget about this morning either.

Coach Clapp blew his whistle and the game began. Almost immediately, Annabeth chucked a ball with deadly accuracy towards me. I narrowly evaded it, just bending my back in time to have it fly past me.

I blinked, surprised by her strength. She merely smirked at me, arms crossed. I glared harshly at her and sprinted towards the center line, whipping it at her. I watched as she yelped and ducked. It slammed against the wall behind her and rolled off to the side.

I laughed after seeing her scared expression. What a scaredy cat.

She huffed and searched for another ball. This was war.

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><p>After about twenty minutes, we were still fighting it out. The only ones left were me, some other kid, and her for their team. Annabeth got the other kid out in no time, leaving just me.<p>

We were both breathing hard, sweat dripping down our foreheads. She looked pretty confident, and that kind of scared me. She probably had some secret weapon or something.

She suddenly stood straight up, tossing a ball up and down in her hand. "Give up, Seaweed Brain?" she taunted.

I stood to my full six foot two height. "Pft, not a chance." I smirked. "But I'll give you this opportunity to save yourself some embarrassment and to give up now before I kick your butt."

She laughed. "You, kick my butt? Ha! That's a good one."

Then, without warning, she chucked the ball at me. Hard. It caught me off guard, hitting me squarely in the chest. I stumbled back as it bounced off my chest into the air. I watched as it soared into the air. If I caught it, _she_ would be out.

Gaining my balance, I dove after the ball.

It was like slow motion.

After I dove, I knew I wasn't going to reach it. As I flew through the air, it just brushed my finger tips before bouncing away to the other side of the gym.

Coach blew his whistle. "Team two wins!"

I groaned from my spot on the floor and let my head thud against the cold, hard floor.

"It's alright man," Nico said, pulling me up to my feet. "You tried."

I watched as Annabeth was crowded by her team. She smirked evilly over at me. "Better luck next time, Seaweed Brain."

I fumed and glared at her before stomping out of the gym to my locker to change clothes.

All the more reason to hate her.

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><p>At the end of the day, I had gathered my stuff and I was now waiting in the lounge with Nico and Grover for Rachel and Thalia. As we were waiting, we saw Annabeth go through the Food Express line to get some sort of smoothie.<p>

Before I could stop him, Nico said, "Hey Annabeth! Great game today in gym!"

I wanted to slap him up the head. I watched as she slowly turned towards him, raising a brow at him. "Uh, thanks…" she replied slowly. She then gave me a weird look, which could only be interpreted with the phrase, "if looks could kill…"

"What the hell was that for?" I asked angrily.

Nico just shrugged.

"Well stop it," I demanded. "I don't want to deal with her unless I have to."

"I can't believe you hate her so much already," Grover spoke up, raising his brows.

I sighed. "I don't hate her, necessarily…she's just a handful. And annoying. And conceded."

I fumed silently again as Rachel and Thalia met us. "Alright," Thalia announced. "Let's go."

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><p>The next day, I discovered that I only had one class with Annabeth: Art.<p>

Great, I thought, another class for her to criticize me.

She glared at me as I walked in. I glared back.

"Seaweed Brain," she muttered in greeting.

I was about to give a smart retort, but then I remembered Rachel's words.

"…_You should try being nice to her next time. I heard she doesn't have very many friends."_

I clenched my teeth and refrained from my retort. I just gave her a sarcastic smile and sat down away from her.

Yesterday, while the gang and I were hanging out, Thalia had brought up an interesting point.

"_Did you ever think, Percy, that she snaps at you because you snap back all the time?"_

_I shook my head. "She started this whole thing. I was trying to be a nice guy, but she was just snooty. Not my fault."_

_Thalia shook her head._

I sighed. I honestly didn't have anything against her. She was just so frustrating!

Whatever. I wasn't going to worry about her.

Our first assignment was to paint a bowl of fruit. How original. I wasn't exactly an artist, so it ended up looking like a bowl of dog-food. Of course, this just opened the flood gate for jokes.

Annabeth sauntered up beside me. She stared at the painting as I pointedly ignored her, my eye twitching. I was just waiting for her to say something to dig under my skin. I waited some more, even turning towards her with a raised brow, but she just shrugged and turned away, going back to her easel.

This pissed me off. Even more so then a sassy remark.

I huffed. "What? Ran out of snotty remarks?" I called to her.

She merely continued painting. "No," she answered calmly. "The painting says it all."

I burned inside.

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><p>After two more periods, it was lunch time. I slammed my tray on the table next to Thalia. She jumped and then turned to punch me in the side.<p>

"Ow…" I mumbled.

"Don't scare me like that," she glared.

I rolled my eyes and sat down roughly.

"What's your deal?" she asked.

I glared. "She insulted my painting…by not even saying anything."

Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it in confusion. "Come again?"

I shook my head. "She really is insufferable."

"You're overreacting," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. "You've only known her for a day. Stop being so dramatic."

I glared at her. "You've never talked to her," I said matter-of-factly.

She shrugged. "I'm sure if I did, she would be the total opposite of what you say she is."

I smirked. "Is that a bet?"

Rachel stared at me, and then she finally said, "Fine. Thalia and I will meet her, and if we can prove to you that she's not that bad, then you owe me…ten bucks and pizza."

I nodded. "Deal."

"Oh boy…" Grover mumbled. "This will not end well…"

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><p>At the end of the day, Rachel and Thalia practically came skipping to my locker.<p>

I stared at them suspiciously. "What?"

"You're on the way to losing the bet."

I quirked an eyebrow as we began walking downstairs. "What do you mean?"

"Annabeth's in our English class, and we talked to her."

I was a little surprised at this. "So now you know that she's a jerk?"

"No, far from it. She's really smart and funny and nice."

"You must be mistaken then. She's not nice."

Thalia sighed. "Believe what you want, but she's not that bad."

I just ignored them as we left the school. As we were leaving, however, I caught sight of Annabeth leaving too. I watched as she walked down the street and turned the corner.

Despite my dislike for her, I hoped that my friends were right, and that she really wasn't that bad.

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><p><strong>Was Percy's and Annabeth's hate for each other too fast? Was the chapter alright? Your feedback is key to me so let me know!<strong>

**Thanks for reading and review please!**

**-Akatsuki Child**


	2. Something in Common

**I didn't think I would have this chapter done so soon...OMG Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed. I was surprised at how many people liked it. Once again, shout out to Lady of Cythera. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two-Something in Common<strong>

The week went by in the same manner. In every Chinese, PE, and Art class, we would throw insults at each other. Our immense dislike for each other grew each day, and by the end of the week, I was sick of it. I was sick of her arrogant attitude and know-it-all posture.

On Wednesday, I made sure to get my own book in Calligraphy. However, I learned that our spots were permanent until the end of the semester, meaning I was stuck next to her at least until Christmas. Ugh.

So, of course, that only fueled our insults towards each other. Half the time, they didn't even make sense.

"Well, I hate your shirt," she said venomously towards me after I commented on her sloppy handwriting.

My brow twitched. This was my favorite shirt. "I hate your…shoes!" I replied quickly.

She clenched her ink brush and furiously copied characters from the book. "You're a jerk!"

"_I'm_ a jerk?" I asked incredulously. "You have been doing nothing but insulting me since we met!" I exclaimed, pointing my ink brush at her. Unfortunately, I had too much ink on the brush so some of it flung off onto her skin, splotching her with black chicken pox.

"Percy!" she yelped, jumping up and staring at her arm. In her haste, she swiped at the ink blotches, only to have them smear on her forearm, hand, and on the bottom of her shirt.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. However, when she looked at me, I think she could tell what I was doing because she suddenly gained a murderous look and a deadly glare.

"This shirt cost me thirty dollars!" she exclaimed.

I just stared up at her, wide-eyed, knowing that if I spoke I would break down in laughter.

She just huffed and grabbed her ink brush. Before I knew what was happening, she was standing in front of me, wiping her brush all over me, even on my chin.

"What the hell?" I yelled, abruptly standing up and trying to wipe the stuff off.

She smirked victoriously, crossing her arms and dangling the brush in her hand. "Not so great, is it?"

I glared harshly at her. I grabbed the ink bottle, all intent on throwing it on her, but then Mrs. Chang appeared, looking rather peeved.

"You two! Office!" she seethed. "Get out of here!"

I flinched a bit, surprised by how mean she was for a little old lady. Annabeth gaped at her.

"Out!" she repeated, making a shooing motion with her hands.

Annabeth clenched her jaw and then abruptly turned on her heel and stormed out. I followed after her grudgingly. This wasn't my first visit to the principal, but the first time it was because of fighting with a girl. Most of the time, it was because Thalia had somehow gotten the blame put on me for the crap that she always pulled.

As we sat in the red velvet chairs in the plain office, a tense blanket of silence fell on us. While I was slouched in my seat, Annabeth sat stock straight, her arms and legs crossed. I glanced up at her from the corner of my eye. Her hair was in its curls again, ending a few inches past her shoulders. Her button-down shirt was smeared with ink, and her gray eyes were violent like a hurricane. Her posture was rigid and stiff. Every now and then, she gave out an angry huff or a sigh.

"Before this, I had never been sent to the office," she snapped.

I rolled my eyes. "Bid deal…" I mumbled.

I felt her staring at me, so I turned to see her murderous glare. Then, suddenly, she punched my shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!" I cried. Damn. She was strong. "That hurt!"

"Good!"

And that's how my Wednesday was ruined. And what was even worse? Thalia and Rachel were reporting that they were actually becoming _friends_ with her. It disgusted me.

On Thursday, at lunch, Rachel and Thalia crowded around me. They were staring at me with raised brows. Creeped out, I asked, "What?"

"You know how we have English with Annabeth?"

I raised a brow. "So?"

"Well, we've been talking to her. She's really cool."

I blinked. "And why are you telling me this?"

"Because you really need to stop being a jerk to her," Rachel reprimanded. "Because she's now one of our friends."

I gaped at her. "You're friends with that monster?"

Thalia slapped him on the head. "Shut it! She's not a monster. She's just got a bit of a temper sometimes."

"Ah ha! So you admit it!"

"But! She has a right to it whenever she deals with you," Thalia finished smugly.

I narrowed my eyes. "Whose side are you on, anyways?"

"Gah! You're friends with Annabeth?" Nico exclaimed, butting into the conversation.

Thalia and Rachel nodded. "Yup." Rachel looked over at me with a slight glare. "So deal with it."

While Nico muttered, "That's so cool…," I turned to Grover, the only sane one left in the group.

Grover was silent, and then he spoke up. "You know, she really isn't that bad…"

My eye twitched. "Whatever…"

Then, they did the unthinkable: they invited her to lunch.

"Don't be a prick," Thalia warned as I sulked over my fettuccini. It was Friday, meaning three more periods before a weekend of freedom and fun. However, with the news of Annabeth sitting with us, my lunch was officially ruined.

"Yeah!" Nico seconded. I glared at him. Grover rolled his eyes.

"Seriously," Rachel said. She lowered her voice. "We asked who she sat with, and you know what she said?"

I raised a brow.

"In the hall, by herself. She doesn't have very many friends, and none that would actually sit with her at lunch."

I didn't let them know that that was a big surprise to me. It had a weird affect on me, like I actually…felt sorry for her. But there was something else there too…However, I merely shrugged and didn't say anything.

A few minutes later, Annabeth came over.

She glared at me harshly before sitting down beside Rachel and Nico.

"Hey Annabeth!" Thalia grinned. Annabeth smiled back at her a bit shyly. I was surprised to see her smile. I usually saw her scowling…at me.

"Hey guys," she replied. That was the first time I'd heard her sound civil. Her voice was rather pleasant….when it wasn't laced with venom.

"Are you going to introduce us?" Nico asked, practically in Annabeth's face. I felt the urge to punch him. It wasn't a foreign urge. What was strange was that I wanted to punch him for getting so close to Annabeth.

He was just a creep, so that's why I had this feeling. Yeah, of course…

"That's Nico…" Rachel said bluntly with no emotion. "And that's Grover…and….yeah…"

I was grateful for her drawing attention away from me. I think Annabeth was too because she gave a small sigh of relief. Whatever. That was just dandy with me.

And then, suddenly, like the infamous movie scene, the doors to the cafeteria burst open and the imaginary fans clicked on as some preps strutted in. It was Stacey, the biggest prep in the school, and her gang of dolls.

"Ew…" I said, thoroughly disgusted.

"Ugh," Annabeth moaned.

"Stacey…" we said at the same time. From the tone of her voice, she was just as revolted as I was.

I blinked and turned to stare at her, appalled. She was looking at me strangely, obviously just as surprised as me.

"Oh my God…" she mumbled. "Do we…share something in common?"

I quirked a smirk. "I…think we might, actually…."

I couldn't look away from her stormy gray eyes. She held me captive with her stare. She was smiling a bit, and I realized that she was really pretty when she smiled…

She broke our eye contact and looked down at her food. I glanced around and saw Nico gaping at me and Rachel was smirking.

"So why do you hate Stacey?" Annabeth asked, still not looking at me.

"She's a huge bitch…" I simply said with a shrug, not wanting to get into it. It was a tale I'd rather not tell.

"Good reason…" she replied with humor laced in her voice.

"You?"

"Made my life hell."

"Ah. Another tortured soul. I'm sorry," I said, honestly feeling sorry for her. I knew what it was like to be tormented by Stacey and the dolls. For some reason, she found pleasure in ruining your life and tearing you down. I swear to God every rumor about me in fifth grade was started by her, with the exception of a few courtesy of Thalia. Besides that, though, she kept making fun of Thalia and Rachel, even starting fights with them. She was just an all-around bad person, one that just caused trouble for the heck of it.

We watched as she stalked over to the jock table in what I guessed were four-inch heels. She sat down in some guys lap and then started making out with him, shoving her tongue down his throat.

I grimaced. "Delightful."

"I think I just threw up in my mouth…" Annabeth mumbled. I chuckled and turned to see Rachel's eye twitching.

"I'm going to go throw up now…" she mumbled, getting up to dump her tray.

Grover shook his head. "While that was…interesting…Nico and I have a meeting with the Stoll brothers."

With the way his eyes glinted dangerously, I could tell it was another "prankster meeting," as they called it.

I saw Annabeth looking at them peculiarly. "Why are you meeting with the Stolls?" she asked suspiciously.

Grover grinned evilly. "To discuss…things," he said mysteriously.

"Oh boy…" Thalia mumbled.

Grover and Nico left, and Annabeth gave us a strange look.

"They like to pull pranks," I elaborated. "And I hope you know the Stolls…?"

She rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah. Who doesn't? They pull pranks on me all the time. It's annoying as hell."

I nodded. "So apparently they meet up every now and then to plan a new prank. Usually big ones." I rolled my eyes. "I just try to ignore those two during this time."

The whole lunch period went by in this fashion. Annabeth and I were actually…talking. Decently. Sure, there were some insults, but they weren't nearly as harsh. She actually wasn't too bad.

* * *

><p>In PE, we were going to start preparing for our mile run. It was worth half of our grade, and it was the worst thing about PE. Every once in a while, someone would get above a C on it, but usually everyone go D's or F's. I fell into the F category. I could probably do better, but it just wasn't worth the effort.<p>

Anyways, to "train" for the mile, we had to pair up and do different stations. I was going to go with Nico, but then I was stopped by Annabeth.

"Uh…hey…" she started a bit shyly.

I raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"Did you…um…want to be partners?"

I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped.

Annabeth, my new enemy since Monday, was asking me to be her gym partner.

Hell just froze over.

"Oh. Uh, y-yeah…" I replied, still shocked and confused. I glanced over at Nico, who was staring at me rather murderously. I just shrugged and turned away, following Annabeth to a part of the gym.

"So what's this all about?" I asked suspiciously. "Going to trip me during a run? Going to pull some sort of prank on me?"

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Maybe I wanted to make amends with you. My mistake."

She turned away and I felt like a jerk. I sighed. "Sorry. It's just…weird."

She relaxed a bit and turned to look at me. "I just think we got off on the wrong foot."

I nodded. "So…are we friends?"

She smiled wryly. "We'll see."

I smirked.

The only things we had to do today were push-ups, sit-ups, a few sprints, and pull-ups on the bars. I thought that since Annabeth and I had kind of cleared the air a bit, things were going to go well this gym period. But I was wrong.

First were push-ups. One minute of these, switch with your partner, rest for a minute, repeat. I wasn't too concerned about them. I was pretty muscular in my arms. However, I never anticipated that Annabeth would think it would be funny to sit on my back while I did them.

"Oomph!" I grunted as she suddenly sat on my back, causing me to collapse on the ground. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't heavy, but it was unexpected and push-ups _burn_. "What're you doing?" I asked, glaring back at her.

She smirked. "Think of it as revenge for being a jerk."

I glared some more. Whatever. I would show her.

With new found confidence, I started pumping out push-ups like no other. I felt sweat forming on my neck, Annabeth still on my back. I was rather surprised that she had done that. Her boldness and sudden open attitude was shocking and it threw me off balance.

"Switch!" Coach yelled. Immediately, Annabeth stepped up and smirked down at me. I was panting hard, lying on the cold hard ground.

"My God!" I exclaimed jokingly.

She rolled her eyes. "Baby…"

To get my own revenge on her, I put on my foot on her back, pressing down a bit as she did her set. I saw her face turn into a grimace, but she didn't say anything. I just smirked. "Not so fun on the other side, huh?"

She merely turned to glare at me, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Next came sit-ups. The worse thing she did during this period was insult me. I was used to it though, so I was able to block it out pretty successfully.

Then the sprints. This part consisted of Annabeth and I racing. While we were racing, we practically had a battle, trying to shove each other off course or trying to trip the other person. Even though I was breathless, I was able to spit out some insults.

"You're…so slow…" I huffed as we did our sprints, neck and neck. "My grandma…is faster…than…you…"

"Shut it…I hope…you trip…and fall…on your face…"

In the end, we had both collapsed against the wall and slid to the ground, gasping for breath and about to pass out.

I turned my head to look over at her. Her hair was messed up in its pony tail. Her cheeks were flushed and I could see a slight sheen of sweat on her face and arms. She suddenly yawned, causing her eyebrows to scrunch up and her eyes to shut tight. She was rather cute…

After mentally slapping myself, I quickly sprung to my feet. "Alright," I said shakily, still trying to deny I had thought that, "let's get our pull ups over with."

She nodded and got to her feet. We went over to the wall where the bar was at and started our pull ups. By the time we were completely done with gym, my arms and legs killed.

"I think I'm gonna die…" Annabeth mumbled as we walked to the gym lockers.

"Ditto."

She sighed and then flopped into the girls' locker room, giving me a small wave. I watched as she disappeared behind the door, wondering about why she was suddenly decent towards me. I figured it was from lunch today when we discovered our hate for Stacey. Still, it was odd, and I couldn't help but wonder how long it would last.

"Percy!"

I sighed and turned around to face Nico. He intercepted me as I was walking towards the boys' locker room.

"What the hell was that?" he asked. "I was totally going to swoop in and make my move, but then…you!"

I rolled my eyes. "I highly doubt she would date you. Also, _she_ picked _me._"

"_Why_?"

I shrugged. "Peace offering," I answered nonchalantly. Nico huffed, crossing his arms. I shook my head and chuckled.

"Dude, if I were in your spot, I wouldn't be wasting my time fighting with her."

I shrugged again but said nothing. He just shook his head and then went to his locker.

* * *

><p>After school, the gang and I were sitting on the couches in the lounge after school, sipping smoothies and eating cookies. We were watching the big screen, which oddly enough, was MTV. I had no idea that the school actually let this channel play. It was mainly music videos right now, though.<p>

As I was sipping my strawberry banana smoothie, Thalia about had a seizure as she waved wildly shouting, "Annabeth!"

I glanced over and saw Annabeth stop and whip her head over to the lounge. All of us (yes, including me) waved her over. She walked over, smiling.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey Annabeth!" Rachel smiled. "Want a smoothie?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No. I can't stay. I have to go get my brothers from the middle school."

"Oh…" Thalia mumbled. "Okay. Well, we'll see you tomorrow then?"

She nodded. "Definitely. See you guys."

And the best part of it was that she had included me in the "guys." Things, at least the way I saw it, were starting to look better between us.

* * *

><p><strong>Te gusta? You like? I hope so. Thanks for reading and review please!<strong>

**-Akatsuki Child**


	3. A Change

**I did not like this chapter. However, it was needed so that things could happen later in the story. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three-A Change<strong>

As I arrived to school the following Monday, I felt…great. I wasn't sure if it was the nice weather, or the fact that, last Friday, Annabeth had been nice to me. I was actually excited for today to go insult-free for the first time since school started.

I was expecting her to be decent, so when she walked into Calligraphy with a scowl on her face—directed at me—I couldn't help gaping at her like a fish.

Finally, it clicked in my head that she was going to be a jerk again.

I narrowed my eyes at her and stiffly turned in my seat to face the front. Anger flared up in me from her sudden hostility again. I wasn't about to let this girl insult me for no reason. Not again.

"So," I started, glaring at her. "I see we're back to insults, huh?"

She clenched her jaw and said nothing. I shook my head and turned around again, staring as Mrs. Chang started her daily rants. I wasn't really paying attention though. I was trying to figure out why Annabeth was acting this way again.

It couldn't have been anything I said because I hadn't seen her at all over the weekend. I know Thalia and Rachel went to hang out with her on Saturday, so did something happen there that I didn't know about?

The class went by in a tense silence between Annabeth and I as others chattered noisily around us. As I was trying to copy some characters, I realized that this was a stupid class for me to take. I had dyslexia, so every once in a while, a symbol would switch around on me. I sighed loudly and dropped my brush on the desk.

I glanced over at Annabeth and saw she was having a hard time too. Her brows were scrunched together and she seemed frozen, studying her book. Finally, she groaned and leaned back, rubbing her forehead. I knew that look. She had it too.

"Dyslexia?" I asked, raising a brow at her.

She just gave me a suspicious look, not saying anything.

"I have it too," I continued. "We're pretty stupid to take this class, huh?"

Annabeth's look softened a bit and she sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

When she talked, her voice didn't seem mean or angry. She just seemed tired.

Timidly, I asked, "Uh, long weekend?"

But then her defenses came up again. "A bit," she answered harshly, turning her body away from me, refusing any more conversation. I blinked, confused. Something obviously happened this weekend, but what?

* * *

><p>"What did you do, Percy?"<p>

I stared up at Thalia's accusatory look. We were at lunch now, and she was towering over me from the other side of the table. When she had arrived, she had slammed her tray down and turned her glare on me.

I narrowed my eyes. "What're you talking about?"

"Annabeth," she supplied curtly. "She's not sitting with us today. She's obviously upset about something though."

"So automatically it's my fault?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

I glared at her. "Well, it wasn't me that ticked her off. She was like that when she came to class."

Thalia studied me before deflating, knowing I was telling the truth. "Well something happened…she was fine on Saturday…"

Rachel just sighed. "We tried talking to her, but she won't tell us."

Nico plopped down next to me. Grover sat across from me, reading some sort of letter.

I raised a brow. "What's that?" I asked him.

He grinned. "It's from Juniper. She's coming home in a week!"

Juniper was Grover's girlfriend of two years. She was part of this group that travelled around the world during the last part of summer to raise awareness for different things, usually diseases. In the beginning of August, she went to Germany to help with a disease that was spreading rapidly there. Thankfully, she was alright and she was finally coming home.

I smiled. "That's awesome!"

He smiled back and then continued reading his letter. I turned back to the main conversation, which still centered on Annabeth and her problem.

"So where is she sitting?" Nico asked.

Rachel sighed again. "She didn't even come to lunch."

I frowned. Now, I wasn't exactly on good terms with Annabeth. Heck, I didn't even really like her. But I still felt kind of bad for her. What was bothering her so much that she wouldn't even _eat?_

"I just hope she's going to be alright…" Thalia muttered.

But we couldn't be too sure.

* * *

><p>At PE class, as we milled around and waited for Coach to come, I scanned the room curiously. To my immense surprise, Annabeth was nowhere to be seen. I turned to Nico, and raised my brows. "She's not here…"<p>

Nico's brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything.

I thought about this as we continued to wait for Coach. She was so upset that she had to leave school…I pressed my lips together. Why did I care about this so much? Why did this upset me?

I pushed thoughts of Annabeth to the back of my mind and tried to focus on PE.

* * *

><p>After school, the gang and I milled around a bit, trying to decide where to hang out.<p>

"Umm…" Thalia suddenly spoke. "I-I can't hang out. I have other…things to do."

I raised a brow at her as she blushed a bit, staring at her shoes.

"Um," Grover said. "Okay…I guess we'll…see you tomorrow then."

She just chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Y-yeah. See you guys."

I watched as she skittered down the street before turning the corner and disappearing.

"That was strange…" I muttered, staring suspiciously. However, I just shrugged it off and followed my friends down the street.

* * *

><p>The next day, Annabeth was in art. When I walked in, she didn't look at me. I just ignored it and went to my seat.<p>

As we were painting some landscapes, I looked over and saw Annabeth looking at her painting sadly, staring off into space and obviously thinking about whatever happened. I swallowed. I felt obligated to go over there and see if she was alright, but I knew she would just shoot me down.

After a few minutes of debating and unintentionally putting orange paint on my grass on the painting, I decided to at least try talking to her. Cautiously, I walked over and stood before her. As predicted, she pointedly ignored me.

"Look," I started, "I know we aren't very good friends…er, not friends at all…but if you need to talk about your problem, you can…talk to me." I rethought that. "Or, at least, Rachel or Thalia. They're worried about you."

She just narrowed her eyes at me. "Thanks, but no thanks," she said harshly. "It's none of your guys' business."

I huffed angrily. "What is your problem?" I asked, exasperated. "We're trying to help you! I know we hate each other but…can't we, like…be friends?"

She stopped and raised a brow at me. I stared back at her, refusing to drop eye contact.

She sighed. "I'm not good at being a friend, but…I suppose…we can be friends."

I nodded. "Good."

"But I'm not going to talk about it."

"Fine."

"So don't ask about. _Ever_."

I shrugged. "Deal."

She took a deep breath and nodded.

"So…are you going to sit with us at lunch?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure."

Rachel owed me big time.

As we got done and cleaned up after art, our class was waiting for the bell to ring. I glanced over at Annabeth and saw she was reading a book. Or, at least, trying to.

I walked over to her. "So…you like reading?" I asked lamely.

She set her book down. "No…yes…kind of."

I looked at her. "Um…" I said slowly. "What?"

She sighed. "I would if I didn't have dyslexia."

"Ah."

"Um…do you…like to read?" she replied awkwardly. This whole 'being friends' thing was awkward and weird, so I knew she was just itching to throw an insult at me. I had to applaud her self-restraint.

"Nah," I answered. "I do like this one book though. It's good when you finally get the words straight."

She quirked a smile. "That surprises me. Anyways, I don't think I would like it if _you_ liked it."

I narrowed my eyes. I reached around and dug in my back pack for that book. I pulled it out and practically slammed it on her desk. "Read it, and then tell me that you don't like it. I dare you."

She just shook her head, a small smile on her face.

Finally, the bell rang. She grabbed the books and then, as we left, gave me a small wave.

* * *

><p>As expected, Annabeth was welcomed back by Rachel and Thalia, a smile on all their faces.<p>

Grover just shook his head. "How'd you do it, Percy?"

I grimaced. "I sold my soul to the devil."

He raised a brow. "Sounds pretty dramatic."

I shook my head. "Well…we're trying to be friends, but I doubt it will last. Besides, she'll probably use it as an excuse to be even more torturous towards me."

"Either way," Nico interrupted with a grin, "you got her to sit with us."

I rolled my eyes at him. He was just hoping she would ask him out or something. I just decided to ignore him.

After school, we asked if Annabeth wanted to hang out with us.

She smiled a bit. "Sure," she answered. And so, we left to our usual hang out. As we walked down the streets, I watched as the girls walked ahead of us, my gaze fixed on Annabeth. She was tall, almost as tall as Rachel, who was five foot seven. Of course, next to me, she was tiny. She was skinny, but not sickly so. She wasn't Stacey-skinny (for which I was thankful). Her blonde hair, which was straight today, went down to her mid back. She was definitely pretty.

I mentally slapped myself and walked into the pizza place behind Rachel. We sat down at a huge table and ordered some pizza and drinks, talking about random stuff.

But then, suddenly, through the doors burst Stacey and her boyfriend. I scowled. "There goes my day…" I mumbled.

We all sighed and tried to ignore her, but that was hard to do when she sauntered over and stood before us.

"Hey, freaks," she greeted. What a pleasant girl.

"Where're your mindless zombies you call friends?" Thalia asked harshly, glaring at her.

Stacey narrowed her eyes. "Watch it, Grace."

Thalia was about to jump on her. No one called her by her last name. She hated it, because she hated her mom. However, Rachel held her back.

"Leave, Stacey," Annabeth spoke up, surprising me.

Even Stacey looked surprised. "Chase? Why are you hanging out with these freaks?"

"They're my _friends_," she answered back. "Now leave us alone."

I'll admit, when she called us her friends…it felt good. Surprising, but good.

Stacey huffed. "Better find some new friends fast because they'll only stab you in the back. You can always come back—"

Annabeth's harsh, cold glare caused Stacey to stop. She glared and then finally said, "Fine. See you, losers." And then she was gone.

I was confused. The way Stacey talked to Annabeth made it seem like…

But no. That couldn't be it.

There was silence for a minute before Annabeth finally broke it.

"We used to be friends."

I blinked. That was probably why I hadn't noticed her before. I tried to block out Stacey and anyone close to her. But why would Annabeth be her friend? Annabeth wasn't like Stacey.

"She stabbed me in the back so many times and made fun of me while we were friends, so I finally ended it and dropped her."

Rachel just blinked. "Thank God you did. That girl is nothing but trouble."

"And you know we would never do that, right Annabeth?" Thalia asked. "We would never stab you in the back."

Annabeth smiled. "I know."

Our eyes met then, and an understanding seemed to pass through us. Even though I was a bit annoying with Annabeth, I would never be as mean as to make fun of her or trash-talk her. We started off on the wrong foot, but maybe…_hopefully_ that would change between us.

I smiled back at her and she gave me a smile in return.

* * *

><p><strong>Annabeth's hiding something. Unfortunately, you readers won't know what made her upset until much later. Also, keep in mind when Thalia had 'some things to do...' And yes, Juniper will come in sometime soon. <strong>

**I re-read PJO: TBL and...wow. I forgot how awesome the books are. I love Nico. He's like my new favorite character. Next chapter, we'll start to see the beginnings of Percabeth!**

**Thanks for reading and review please!**

**-Akatsuki Child**


	4. A Confession

**Sorry about the late-ish update. They'll be coming a bit slower because of sports and the end of school coming up. I'm really trying to get chapters written. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four-A Confession <strong>

"Mr. Jackson, you were supposed to memorize the first two pages of characters in your book."

I shifted around uncomfortably. Memorizing wasn't my thing… "Erm…yeah…"

"And you evidently _didn't_." There was something about angry Chinese women that just scared me to death.

She was glaring harshly at me through her thick-rimmed, wide glasses. I stared at a spot above her head. "Nope."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then you can memorize them by copying each symbol twice."

I bit back a groan and slouched in my chair as she stalked away. Great.

Annabeth gave me a small look of sympathy. I just shook my head a bit and she just gave me a small smile.

My eye twitched ruthlessly as I grudgingly wrote out the two pages of characters twice. It was a tedious task because my dyslexia was trying to rearrange how the characters looked. Because we only used ink brushes in this class, I couldn't just erase my mistakes. I had to put an 'X' through it and then start over with that symbol.

I growled as a kid suddenly walked by, bumping my arm and causing me to place a black streak across a different symbol. I clenched my teeth and glared at the kid who walked by. He didn't even notice what he did. Jerk.

Ferociously, I dipped my brush in the ink bottle and started over on the now two destroyed characters. Again, I started working furiously to finish.

"Hey…"

I glanced up and saw Annabeth had scooted her desk towards mine a bit. I clenched my jaw. "Stupid teacher…"

She didn't say anything. I could feel her staring at me, and I'll admit it made me a bit curious as to what she found so interesting about me. She didn't say anything for a while and I continued to work, still aware of her gaze.

"I can help, if you want..." I heard her mumble. I blinked and looked up at her. Her offer shocked me. I was just surprised she didn't laugh in my face.

I sighed and gave a half smile. "Nah. That's okay. I'll get it done. Thanks, though."

She looked a bit disappointed, which piqued my curiosity. Why did she have that look on her face? She wasn't actually upset about my refusal, was she? She was obviously just being nice when she asked me. Hmm…

"So how did you get mixed with Stacey?" I asked. It had been bugging me all day yesterday after the confrontation with the school's bitch.

I watched her for a reaction, and I wasn't disappointed. Her whole body stiffened. "Umm…I don't really want to talk about it…" she said wearily with a hard voice.

I bit my lip. Damn. I wanted to figure out what the deal was. Oh well. I didn't want to push her away now that we were…well, sort of friends. I didn't want to lose all possibility of gaining her trust. Disappointed, I just nodded. "Okay."

I wouldn't ask her about it for now, but I will find out what happened eventually.

After a few more minutes, I finally finished copying.

"Done!" I exclaimed proudly, holding up my three pages of work. Mrs. Chang snatched them from the air and nodded at me.

"You will do well to remember to _memorize next time_," she all but snarled at me.

I glared at her when she turned her back, heading to her desk. Maybe I should have Nico set up a prank on her…

"For this next activity, you'll all need a partner."

I sighed and turned to Annabeth. "Partners?"

She nodded, albeit hesitantly. She was still stiff from the Stacey prompt, but I tried to act like nothing had happened. Again, this only left me wondering even more about what happened between the two.

* * *

><p>After class, as I was walking through the halls, someone suddenly screeched my name. I froze in my spot, knowing too well whose voice that was. I turned in fear and stared in horror at the mess stomping towards me.<p>

It was Rachel, and for some reason (though I'm sure I know who did it), she was covered in purple and green paint.

I stumbled backwards into a locker as she grabbed the collar of my button up shirt and shoved me against the wall. I noticed with disdain that she was leaving paint stains on the shirt, but then her cold, glaring eyes and harsh voice was bearing down on me again.

"You," she growled low and cold. "You tell your cousin to knock this shit off."

I laughed nervously. "N-Nico you mean? Aw, he was just joking—"

"Tell him to stop or I'll punch his lights out."

I swallowed. "Okay Rachel. Please don't kill me…"

She gave me another glare and then released my shirt. I watched as she huffed and stomped away, heading towards the office, probably to change.

I let out a breath, glad that I was still alive. Rachel was scary when she got mad. She could seriously put you in a coma. She was mean.

However, my thoughts soon turned towards the cause of all this. I growled as that annoying kid Nico came to my mind. Rachel didn't need to worry. I would rip him a new one.

Turns out, I didn't have a chance to get to him. As Rachel seethed with rage in her seat, she mentioned to us how she had told the principal about his little prank.

"It wasn't just me," she reported, "he played his prank on the whole class. The teacher sent him to the office, but I had to go in and make sure."

"You mean rub it in his face?" Thalia asked with a raised brow.

Rachel cleared her throat. "Possibly."

I grinned at her. This wasn't the first time he's been to the office for pulling a prank. In fact, he and the Stoll brothers (and Grover on occasion) had been in the office more times than I could count. Unfortunately, the brothers and Grover and roped Nico into their mischievous ways ever since Nico came to the high school a year ago. It was scary to think of the pranks they had accomplished, most of which Nico hadn't even been a part of. I shuddered involuntarily.

Rachel was still covered slightly in paint. She had changed clothes, and most of it was out of her hair and face, but there were still some streaks in her hair and a few blotches and smears on her arms and face.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was still acting closed off. It wasn't as bad as it was in Calligraphy, but she still had that air around her that clearly said she was not going to talk about it.

The rest of the lunch was pretty monotonous. Nothing interesting happened. Grover was still gaga over Juniper (who was coming tomorrow!) and Rachel and Thalia were chatting it up about something they had read in one of their girly magazines.

"She, um…" Annabeth suddenly started. She was sitting by me, so I was the only one who had heard her mumble. Maybe that's how she wanted it. "Stacey…she became my friend when I moved here. She kind of looped me into her 'way of life…'"

I realized then that she was telling me how she was connected to Stacey. I was rather surprised she was telling me and not the other girls, but I wasn't about to protest. Instead, I silently listened, afraid that if I interrupted her, she wouldn't ever speak of it again.

Annabeth paused. Then, "She…took me to a party in freshman year, and she spiked my drink." She took a deep breath. My fist clenched around my fork. She wasn't moving and neither was I. Everything around us, all the lunch room chatter and Rachel's endless rambling, was blocked out.

"After making me look like a total idiot," she muttered angrily with a shaky breath, "she took me home and told my dad that I had gone completely crazy last night and that they tried to stop me. But Stacey had been the one shoving drinks in my hand. I just…." I saw her swallow hard. "I don't want to remember any of this, because she ruined my life. She started rumors about me, she threatened me…"

I studied her face. Her shoulders were tense and hunched in, her jaw was clenched, and I swore I saw her eyes moistening up.

I swallowed dryly. Some part of me, in the pit of my gut, wanted to reach out and comfort her, just to let her know that I was there. I knew how Stacey worked. She clicked by ruining other people's lives. I know. She had done it to me, though not as dramatically.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was reaching out. My hand just barely ghosted over her shoulder before she abruptly stood up with a hasty "sorry," storming out of the lunch room.

My hand hung there in mid-air as the other three and I stared after her.

I didn't know what to say.

* * *

><p>I trudged through the hallways to my next class. Annabeth hadn't come back at all from lunch. We had PE today, and I could only wonder whether or not she would miss another class.<p>

A part of me was glad that she had told me this new, interesting piece of information, but another part of me wished she hadn't. But then again, I felt...well, not exactly honored, but something close to that because she had told _me_, not Rachel or Thalia. Maybe she was testing me, trying to see if I was really going to try and be her friend. I highly doubted it, but in the short time that I've known Annabeth, I've figured out that she is cunning.

No, my logic was just going in circles, bringing me back to the main point of my thinking: _why did she tell me, and me alone?_

I sighed heavily. I tried to push it to the back of my mind as I changed into my PE clothes. For all I knew, I was making something out of nothing.

When I sauntered into the gym, I noted with a small amount of surprise that Annabeth was there, waiting. Granted, she had her body turned away, clearly expressing her wishes to be anywhere but here. Her whole body was tense still, and her eyes were staring holes into the cement.

After a minute, she glanced up and saw me. I gave a smile and a slightly awkward wave. She just sighed and plodded over. I looked down at her curiously as she averted her eyes.

"Um," she started rather awkwardly. "Sorry about today… I didn't mean to dump that on you."

I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to make her feel better. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She looked shocked at this, but then she gave a small smile. "Thanks, Percy."

I gave a half smile. "Now, let's attack this mile."

After PE and other classes, Annabeth and I were walking through the halls with Thalia. We were going to meet up with Rachel after school to go hang out at my mom's apartment and to plan Juniper's coming come party. Grover had left right away after school to get to the airport to pick up his lover.

However, we were stopped by an amusing sight.

Nico, the little punk-ass, was trudging sadly down the hallway, his head hung low. I raised a brow at the girls and we went after him.

"Nico!"

Said boy stopped and turned around with a heavy sigh. He looked up at us, eyes shining with sadness and anger.

"What happened?" I asked wearily as he stood before us with a rigid stance.

"Well," he started, "I've been suspended for two days."

I blinked. "That's it?"

He sighed. "No. I also have to…um…you know that play they do every fall?"

I nodded.

He swallowed thickly. "The principal is making me, Travis, and Connor…jointheplay!"

After comprehending what he just said, I started laughing loud, obnoxious guffaws.

Trying to stifle her giggles, Thalia asked, "What play is it?"

Nico suddenly blushed a bit, and Nico didn't blush. At all. He was always as pale as death. "Uh…Romeo and J-Juliet…"

That started a new round of laughter. I was practically crying now as I leaned against the lockers. Nico couldn't act to save his soul. He hated anything like that. He pulled pranks. That was his forte.

"What, now you're going to tell us you're playing Romeo?" Annabeth asked.

His blush intensified. "Maybe…"

A new spiel of giggles. This was too funny.

"Ohhh, Nico…" I sighed, a grin still plastered on my face like the jerk I was. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and tugged him down the hall. "My poor, little, idiotic cousin…when are you going to learn that Principal Flatts is only going to get worse with his punishments?"

He glared and shoved me off. I just continued to grin at his retreating form as I fell in line with the girls again.

* * *

><p><strong>I wanted to write more, but I cut if off here so they won't get too long yet. We'll ease into the long chapters :)<strong>

**So whatcha think? You get a little glimpse of Annabeth and Stacey, but more will come of that later, and then the huge plot twist that will come waaaay later. **

**Thanks for reading and review please!**

**-Akatsuki Child**


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